Everything you should know about migraines

This article discusses many aspects of migraines such as what causes them and how to treat them.

Migraines can loosely be described as recurrent moderate to severe headaches that is typically unilateral, that is, pain occurring on side of the head. Associated symptoms may include nausea, vomiting, photophobia (increased sensitivity to light), phonophobia (increased sensitivity to sound) and the pain is generally aggravated by physical activity. Up to one-third of people with migraine headaches perceive an aura: a transient visual, sensory, language, or motor disturbance which signals that the headache will soon occur. Occasionally an aura can occur with little or no headache following it.

What causes migraines?

The underlying causes of migraines are unknown. However, they are believed to be related to a mix of environmental and genetic factors. They run in families in about two-thirds of cases and rarely occur due to a single gene defect.

There have been stipulations that migraines are caused by expanded blood vessels in the brain. However, the pain of migraine headaches might not be caused by expanded blood vessels in the brain, as previously thought. Instead, the real culprit may be overactive pain-signal firing in brain cells, new research suggests. These findings were published on April 9th in the journal Lancet Neurology, come from studying the brain scans of patients as they were suffering from a migraine.

Moreover, there are several treatments being developed that could address this signaling and, in turn, help treat migraine pain. However, further studies are needed to confirm that the overactive signaling is a cause of migraine pain.

How can migraines be cured?

Preventive migraine medications are considered effective if they reduce the frequency or severity of the migraine attacks by at least 50%. Common drugs used in Ghana to help with the pain are Cafergot (combination of drugs; ergotamine tatrate and caffeine), topiramate, propranolol, and metoprolol. Other household methods that can help are as follows:

a. Getting a good night’s sleep

b. Keep the room dark

c. Take Caffeine; it's a paradox of headaches: ingest too much caffeine and you may get a headache, but take a little bit and it can help make the pain disappear

d. Ice packs. Lie down and put an ice pack or cold compress on your head. Close your eyes while doing that.

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